The Wolf's Beautiful Winter
by Peace Sign Freak
Summary: Anna Wolff breaks up with Kristoff Bjorgman after finding him with another girl. Now, Elsa Winter, Anna's long-time best friend, has to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. What will the two friends learn from the experience? And when Kristoff comes back for forgiveness, will Anna forgive him? And what does Elsa think? On hiatus.
1. Prologue

"I can't believe you, Kristoff!"

"Look Anna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"To what? Break my heart?"

"Anna…Please, let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Kristoff. I saw you with _her_."

Kristoff shrank back in himself. He wasn't expecting to hear that from Anna. He thought a friend told her the news, not for her to see it with her own eyes.

"Oh."

"Oh is right, Bjorgman! Now, leave my life and never come back!"

"Anna…"

"Leave. Now."

"Anna-"

"Did I stutter, Kristoff? I said: Now!"

Anna pushed Kristoff out into hallway. The tall blonde man was shocked at how much force for the small red-head could impose on him. She glared at him with shining teal eyes colored with rims of red. The skin around them were raw, puffy, and hot. She pointed a harsh finger at him while maintaining a death-grip on the door knob with her other hand.

"Leave now, Kristoff, or else I'll call the cops!"

"You wouldn't. Would you?"

"I will if you don't leave soon."

Kristoff was frightened by the thought of being chased by the cops. The last time her had to outrun the law was when he was coming from a frat party where he was piss drunk and met a met the mystery girl that he laid down with that night before they were caught kissing by Anna two weeks later. Kristoff hadn't meant to cheat on Anna nor did he mean to lead the girl on, but she was hard to shake and had trouble saying "no" to people in general without sounding mean.

Without another thought, Kristoff looked at Anna with pleading eyes. He didn't want to lose her. They had been together for nearly a year now and felt so complete with her. He rose his hands up in defense.

"Please, Anna. Hear me out…I-"

"Get the fuck out!"

The tall, muscular blonde man shrank in on himself again. He locked eyes with his now ex-girlfriend, Anna Wolff, and could feel her glare burn through to his soul. Without a second's hesitation, he high-tailed it out of there before things got worse.

Finally, Anna slammed the door shut and balled her eyes out as she made her way to the couch and collapsed on her college roommate and long-time best friend, Elsa Winter.

"What an asshole," Anna softly screamed into Elsa's shirt.

Elsa soothed Anna as she cried her heart out. The strawberry blonde's shoulders shook with anguish as she dampened her best friend's blue shirt.

"Shh…It's going to be okay. _You're_ going to be okay."

"I. Just. Don't. Understand. Why. He. Did. That."

Elsa scrunched her eyebrows as she casted her eyes down at her best friend's head. She couldn't see her face since it was buried against her chest, but didn't need to see it. She could tell how heartbroken Anna was by hearing how broken her sentence was. Anna had to heave and sniffle after each word just to make a simple statement. That's how broken she was-more so than a huge mess of broken eggshells, glass, and fine china combined.

The platinum blonde wound woman was so deeply effected hearing her best friend's heart shatter repeatedly that she could feel her own heart break apart bit-by-bit like a slow moving earthquake. She allowed a tired breath of air to escape her pale lips as she cradled Anna's head closer to her chest and tightened her loving grip on her body.

"Anna…I don't know what to say. You certainly don't deserve such treatment, but I don't know what to say about…", Elsa hesitated. She was about to utter Kristoff's name, but decided it was best not to say it at all fearing she might further upset Anna. "…him. I was kind of surprised when this happened. He seemed like a nice guy. You know, different. A good different. But that wasn't the case. Maybe you just weren't meant to be."

The crying had subdued. Anna lifted her head to meet Elsa face-to-face.

"But I _loved_ him. I thought we'd eventually be together forever."

"Well, that didn't work out obviously. If you two are truly meant to be, then everything will work out itself in the end."

Anna shifted off of Elsa's squished body and sat upright. Elsa repositioned herself so she was sitting with an erect back. Anna wiped a few tears away from her eyes before looking back into Elsa's steel blue eyes.

"You really think so?"

"Sure. Why not? I mean, Kristoff certainly doesn't deserve your love and trust now, but maybe someday all will be forgiven and you will fall in love again and have a happy ending just like the ones in those Disney movies you love so much."

"Elsa, why are you saying this?"

"Well, my first instinct was to verbally bash Kristoff and encourage you to do the same, but then I thought that that isn't Anna's style. No matter how hurt you would be you wouldn't really want to do that so…I decided to give you hope instead because that seems more like your style. But I also don't want you to run back to him after a short while. You have a right to be mad at him. He could be a real asshole sometimes anyway. You can choose to eventually forgive him or never forgive him at all. I just don't want you to get hurt again, but I also don't want you to be lonely and miserable either."

"But I'm never _truly_ lonely. I've got you, Elsa. You've always been there for me. You were there when my grandparents died, you were there when my cousin got married, and you were there when I had the flu. I know you've been there me for more than those times."

Elsa smirked as she tucked away a wild strand of hair behind Anna's left ear. "Yeah, but you've been equally there for me as well so it's not like I'm doing anything out of the ordinary for the two of us."

"That may be so, but you always there for me. There were the times when you didn't have to, but you did it because you wanted to."

"What are friends for?"

Now it was Anna's turn and brush back a bang that had fallen from its wind-swept position on top of her head.

"Correction: that's what _best_ friends are for. The bestest best friends, actually. You're essentially family to me, Elsa. My family sees you as such as well. If you lost your family and had no one else to turn, my parents would take you in in a heart-beat and I would too, only faster than that. I'd take you the moment you heard the news about your family….But hopefully that will never have to come to be."

"I hope so, too. But, Anna, just so you know, I wouldn't look toward anybody else for help than you and your family if that did happen. Maybe I do have other family members I love and trust and all, but I'm so much closer to you and your parents than I could be with my other blood relatives."

Anna had a cockeyed smile plastered on her face. "Thanks for being there for me."

Elsa blinked in confusion. She was slightly lost from talking so much and so deeply. "For what?"

"For easing the pain in my heart from my break-up with Kristoff. I'm sorry you endure watching such a painful sight."

Elsa shrugged her shoulders. "It didn't bother me as much as you would think it did. I'm just glad nobody got physically hurt or that no one got involved. Despite the tension and awkwardness, it was a fairly painless experience at least from my perspective. It wasn't dragged out like those annoying and overly dramatic break-ups that happen in TV shows and in real life."

"Oh. Well I'm glad you feel that way. I guess someone has to stay positive and it best be you, Elsa. You always know how to put things in perspective and staying positive all the same."

"Yeah. Quite a flip from how I was when growing up: all isolated and socially inept."

"That's true, but you had me back then so you weren't completely isolated from human contact your parents notwithstanding."

"Yes, I do have you."

Anna and Elsa shared a smile before Elsa lightly slapped Anna on the knee. "So, do you want to watch a movie? Tomorrow's Saturday, so we can stay up pretty late if you want.

"A movie sounds good. It'll probably help me get my mind off of my…my br-break…"

Elsa could sense that Anna was about to fall into another crying fit. She quickly leaned in captured Anna in her arms and gently rocked her to and fro.

"Shhh….It's okay. You're going to be fine. Don't cry, don't cry."

Anna sniffled. Elsa's attempt of preventing Anna from crying had succeeded. She slowly pulled away as to not disturb her best friend. Once she was able to peel herself from the red-head's body, she met teal eyes with steel blue ones.

"Do you want to pick out the movie or the snacks?"

"You can pick out the movie. I'll get the snacks. I just have two requests."

"Yes?"

"Please no dramas or romantic movies or even romantic comedies."

"Can the movie be a comedy and still have some romance? Can it be vague?"

Anna contemplated this and shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose a tiny bit of romance won't hurt me."

"Great. I'll pick out a movie for us to watch. You can pick whatever you want for snacks."

"Since I made a request on the movie, do you want to make a request for snacks?"

"No. I'm fine with whatever you pick."

"What about something to drink?"

"Water's fine for me."

"Kay. By the way, I'm going to change into my comfies before we start the movie. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. That actually sounds good to me. I'll change into something comfortable as well. No need to go anywhere tonight."

"You're the best, Elsa."

Anna quickly kissed Elsa and the cheek before heading for the kitchen to get some snacks ready. Elsa blushed and had a stupid smile on her face. She got up and search through the DVD collection to pop into the player and play the movie. Elsa looked at a few movies that were contenders and weighed their effect on Anna until she decided on an American comedy starring Robin Williams and Nathen Lane. Satisfied with her choice, Elsa placed the movie disc in the DVD player and waited it to load as she waited for the home scene to come up. Once the movie was set up, she glanced over in the kitchen to see what Anna was doing. She was making popcorn and had two ice cold glasses of water ready. Elsa knew that she was almost ready with the snacks. Elsa knew that all there was left for Anna to complete the snacks was something sweet. Most likely it was going to be chocolate bars.

Seizing her opportunity, Elsa went to her bedroom to change in advance before Anna would dash off to change into her comfortable clothing. She had to change before Anna because the red-head had a knack for changing into and out of clothes fairly quickly.

As soon as Anna had the snacks, coasters, and paper towels were ready, she brought everything over to the coffee table in front of the couch. Once she had everything set, Elsa emerged from her bedroom with a pair of ocean blue flannel pajama pants and a light blue hoodless sweatshirt over what she assumed was a big, white t-shirt since it was her favorite bedtime ensemble. And as always, Elsa was barefoot when she wore her pajamas. Anna relished the thought that she knew that Elsa loved the feeling of cool hardware floor underneath her feet. It just relaxed her.

Anna stood up straight the moment she was sure everything was in order on the table. "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"I'm going to change. Don't you dare start the movie without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Anna turned around and headed for her bedroom to change. Elsa walked over a closet where she and Anna kept miscellaneous supplied and pulled out a wool blanket big enough for two full-grown adults to share which was enough since the two of them were small in stature even for women. With the blanket in hand, Elsa lumbered over to the couch and plopped down on the right-side cushion that had her butt-imprint on it. She then undid the blanket and spread half of it over her lap leaving a folded up corner for Anna. She dug her back into the couch cushions and reached for the TV remote first to turn on the TV and adjust the volume setting. Then she replaced the TV remote and picked up the DVD remote and home phone. She dialed the home phone and called for pizza since it was close to dinner time. She made a call to the campus' market place that they lived a few stories above and asked for their usual combination order. Once Tom (a friend who was familiar with Elsa and Anna's favorite foods from the college market) confirmed the order and promised a time when the pizza would come before hanging up. Elsa placed the home phone back on the receiver with a satisfied smile on her face. By the time, she got comfortable on the couch again, Anna came out with black sweat pants, white well-worn socks, a pink tank-top and a green button-up sweater rolled up to her elbows with matching rubber wristbands. She plopped down right next to Elsa and pulled the blanket over her lap before scooting closer to Elsa until they were practically shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Elsa picked up the DVD remote and then looked over at Anna. Her best friend looked back at her.

"I ordered us our usual pizza since it's getting close to dinner time and I rather we had a full meal. Is that okay?"

Anna kissed Elsa again on the cheek. "That's fantastic."

Elsa responded with a bashful blush. "It's nothing, Anna. I just figured we would want to veg out as much as possible without missing out on a full meal since we have a few snacks and water to hold us over. Besides, pizza is a great food to have for comfort and when you just want to be lazy or if you got a bad case of the munchies."

"True that. What movie did you pick?"

Elsa looked back at the TV screen. "I picked the American comedy The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathen Lane."

"Ooh! The Birdcage. I love that movie! You picked the perfect movie, Elsa. You always know what to do and say."

"I try."

"Now, let's watch this sucker. I'm aching for some good old American humor. Albert is my favorite character. He's so fucking adorable and funny. I just love him."

Elsa chuckled. "Okay." Then she pressed the play button and dropped the remote in her lap. While the movie moved toward the opening scene, Anna scooted even closer to Elsa and cuddled right up to her wrapping her arms around Elsa's limp one.

Forty minutes into the movie Tom's signature knock with a tempo of two-three- two was heard. Elsa paused the movie and slid out from under the blanket. She headed for her bedroom and returned to the door with her wallet at hand. She opened the door and greeted Tom.

"Hey, Tom."

"Hey, Elsa."

Then he peered over Elsa's shoulder and saw Anna cozied up on the couch in her usual comfy attire.

"Hey, Anna."

Anna gave him a friendly waved. "Hi, Tom."

Tom smiled before looking back at Elsa. In a soft voice, he said: "Bad day?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"What happened?"

Elsa pulled out exact change for the pizza and a nice tip for Tom. She whispered to him as they exchanged the pizza box for the money. "She broke up with Kristoff."

"Ooh. Ouch. I'm sorry for Anna. May I ask what caused it?"

"He cheated."

"Kristoff? No way. I never pegged him to be like that. He was always the gentleman to Anna first and then to everybody else. How?"

"I don't know. I guess he had a moment of weakness and Anna caught him. I don't know all the details."

"Yeah…but still…To do THAT to Anna? She's sweeter than chocolate. Want me to give a firm talking to him when I see him again?"

"No, Tom. That won't be necessary. I think Anna scared him plenty making a threat to call the cops. But thanks for the offer though."

"Good for her and no problem. I'd stick up for either one of you girls because you're part of my circle of people I care enough about to defend. And FYI: the circle is kind of exclusive."

"Thank you, Tom, and goodnight."

"Oh, I will." A hint of confidence was evident in his usually casual voice.

Elsa gave Tom an all-knowing eyebrow raise. "You and Elise got plans tonight?"

Tom smirked. "Yes, we do. Much, much later in the night thank you very much."

"Well, don't forget to use protection."

"We won't."

"Kay. Bye, Tom."

"Bye, Elsa."

Then he looked over at Anna again. "Bye, Anna!"

Anna smiled at Tom "Bye, Tom!"

With that Tom left and Elsa closed the door. She briefly had set down the pizza box on the kitchen counter to lock the door and get paper plates. Then she brought the pizza box and paper plates over and had placed a slice on each plate before setting the box down on the floor near the coffee table and handed a plate to Anna and getting herself back into position.

"Thanks."

Elsa turned to face Anna just in time to see her take the first bite in her pizza slice. "You're welcome."

After chewing and swallowing her first bite, Anna turned back to Elsa. "What did you and Tom talk about?"

"Tom sends his condolences to you."

"Oh…That's sweet of him."

"Yeah."

"What else?"

"He and Elise are gonna do it much later tonight. And don't worry…They're going to use protection. I checked."

"Good for them! They deserve to have as much happiness tonight. They're such a lovely couple even though we haven't seen very often. I hope Elise gives Tom the best blow job ever."

Elsa laughed. "I'm sure, she will. She's a nice girl and he's a nice guy…not like Kristoff though."

"I know." Anna took another bite of her pizza. Elsa took a bite of her own before grabbing the remote and resuming the movie.

Four more slices and two chocolate bars later the movie had ended and the end credits were rolling. Elsa was still awake, but Anna had fallen into a food coma. She was tightly curled up to Elsa's side and snored softly into her arm. Elsa carefully repositioned her arm so it wrapped around Anna's sleeping figure and brought her even closer than before if that was possible. Elsa looked down at her best friend that she's known since they she was three and Anna was a six month old baby. Elsa felt a pang of guilt encase her heart. She was a finishing her third year of university and Anna was only on her first year which meant she wouldn't be able to watch over her for much longer. Even though Elsa was most likely going to stay for a total of five years, she knew she couldn't stick around for much longer. She was certain they would always remain best friends but she wouldn't see Anna every day once she graduated and had to leave Anna behind to finish her own degree.

Elsa took the moment to plant a sweet kiss on the top of Anna's head and rest her chin on it. She laid the two of them back against the couch cushions and took a deep breath before letting out a long exhale. The platinum blonde woman took in her surroundings and hoped she could make everything last with Anna before the time would come when they wouldn't see each other every day. Elsa wanted to let Anna know that even though Kristoff screwed up his relationship with her that she was not going to do the same thing as him. Elsa felt that she should reflect on the events that had built up to that moment; the events that happened before Kristoff royally fucked up and lost Anna's trust. It all started two weeks ago when the weather was still vaguely warm with the occasional breeze and slightly overcast sky.

To Be Continued… 

**A/N: **Hey, guys. I'm taking a little break from Anna/Elsa sister bonding and going in a different direction. Don't worry, though. I'll go back to it later. I'm doing this story because it popped into my head before I posted the epilogue of Frozen Heart. In the meantime as I write up this story, I'm going to think of an idea for a sequel for Frozen Heart just so you guys know I'm not ignoring your ideas. I just want to experiment. I hope you'll be patient with me…and maybe enjoy this story in the meantime.


	2. That Day

Even though winter was fast approaching, it was a pleasant day in late fall. The sun was kind despite being over-casted and the breeze was sufficient. It was a good enough day for friends to spend the day together. Actually, it was the perfect day to spend the day outside since it was Friday. Most university students typically had classes as early as ten in the morning, had no classes at all, or simply skipped class, but no matter the circumstance campus usually was scarcely populated by the student body on Fridays. Only a few thousand students would roam the halls of each building who cared enough to attend class and keep themselves with school work while sheltered in classrooms. It was usually like that, but on nice days like this one, even more people barely hung around.

Elsa was one of those students who had a class at eleven in the morning and went to it. Anna was also was one of those students. In fact, they shared the class since it was a general education course. However, Kristoff was not like them. He did occasionally go to class on Fridays, but today was not the day for him to be cooped up in a classroom when he could be enjoying it with his friends. Yet, he had changed when Anna complained that he should care more about his education like she and Elsa did even though he was a third year just like Elsa. He only listened to Anna because he cared about her and wanted to please her. But even Anna couldn't keep Kristoff from staying in his classes on a beautiful Friday for very long. When it did happen, she'd just sigh and let it go not bothering to worry over something so frivolous. Besides, she wanted to enjoy her weekend as well and that meant letting small things slide like Kristoff ditching class. She couldn't force him to do anything since he was an adult and a university student. He was capable to taking command of his own life and take on responsibilities. She just wished he could follow Elsa's example. She was studious, kind, patient, always responsible, and knew how to have fun and when to have fun so they didn't get into trouble.

When Elsa and Anna got out of class at noon, they linked arms as they always did when walking down the halls together and talked about what they learned in the lecture and made plans for the rest of the day and decided where they would have Kristoff meet up with them. Half way to their in campus apartment unit, Anna had pulled out her cell phone and texted Kristoff where and when they would meet him. He texted back he would see them later.

After dropping off their backpacks and making sure they had their wallets, Elsa and Anna made their way to their favorite hang-out spot on campus near the library. They were a little early so they took a table outside and waited for Kristoff to arrive. When it was time for him to meet up with them, Elsa and Anna looked around for him. No sign of him yet. Five minutes passed and still he was not there. Anna turned to Elsa with a worried look on her face.

"Elsa, what if something happened to Kristoff? He's never late."

"I'm sure he's on his way."

"But why? What could he be doing while we're waiting for him to get lunch?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure he'll come soon. Just be patient, Snowdrop. "

Anna calmed down a bit when she heard Elsa use her nickname. She loved how clever Elsa was to pick it for her. Yet again, Elsa had picked the perfect nickname for her as she always picked the perfect anything for Anna. The name suited her well since it was flower that symbolizes spring blooming after winder and Anna was born in early spring, but also for the fact that it was the title of a Hans Christian Andersen short story which Anna loved so much aside from two of his classic fairytales of The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen.

Anna smiled at Elsa. "Okay. I'll try."

Elsa returned the gesture. Another five minutes passed by and then finally Kristoff could be seen coming towards them a few yards away.

"I see him!"

Anna shot up from her seat beside Elsa and ran towards Kristoff. Elsa watched her best friend hurl her body towards her boyfriend being the adoring girlfriend she had always set out to be for him. Elsa pensively tapped her right index finger against the stone table top as she watched Anna and Kristoff exchange greetings and shared a kiss before coming back to her. When they were a few paces away, Elsa stood up from her spot and joined Anna's side giving Kristoff a friendly smile.

"Say, Kristoff, where have you been?"

"I was with some buddies of mine from the fraternity and had a beer with them. They have invited me to a party that's tomorrow night. It's supposed to be big. I told them I'd think about it though."

"Hmmm…What do you think, Anna?"

Kristoff and Elsa looked at Anna expectantly.

"I guess so…."

"Please, Anna? I don't go to many parties and I need to go to one big one before I leave the university to have a full experience here as a university student. It's just going to be me and the guys from the fraternity. No one else except maybe for some first years making pledges. Besides, I don't know when I'll get another chance like this again."

"What do you mean, Kristoff? Won't you still be part of the fraternity?"

"I actually decided I'm going to leave after this year is up. I do need a place to live, but I found out that the fraternity brothers still do hazing and that stuff can be dangerous and cruel."

"Well, at least you know what you're doing."

"So, could I go? You know, as a 'goodbye' to the frat house?"

"Sure, why not?"

"And if I leave the frat house after this year, maybe you and I can bunk together as roommates next year."

Anna looked deep into Kristoff's brown eyes and thought she saw a promising future being her boyfriend's roommate. But before she made a judgment call, she looked over at Elsa and took in her body language. Her arms were crossed and she was looking away from her. Even though she came off as being bored and vaguely looking at nothing in particular Anna knew Elsa was happy about the prospect. She understood how her best friend felt knowing full well that they had known each other for much longer than three years and they had great roommate chemistry.

Anna wondered if it was worth risking becoming Kristoff's roommate when she had no idea if Elsa would want her back the following year as she was sure she would stay on campus for a total of five years. Plus, she didn't even know if it would be a good idea to bunk with Kristoff. They didn't have experience eating a meal alone really. But that was because she didn't want to leave Elsa alone and she needed her like a child needs a teddy bear or favorite blanket. Elsa was Anna's security blanket. Plus, Anna knew Elsa had no one like she had Kristoff since she was holding out for that special girl in her life. Anna also realized that she and Kristoff haven't even snuggled on a couch, so how would they expect to magically room together without many qualms? What if she didn't like how he actually ate or how he slept? What if they fought about small, stupid things or if she would have to remind him to put down the toilet seat? Anna never would have to worry about those things about Elsa since she knew how she was as roommate and was completely comfortable with it. She didn't want to risk messing up something that she never had so good with. But she also wanted to try and take the next step with Kristoff. She looked up at him after studying Elsa's posture.

"I'll think about it."

Kristoff cracked a smile. "Sweet." Then he kissed her forehead.

"So, where do you two ladies want to go for lunch? My treat."

Anna looked back at Elsa. She noticed that her arms had gone limp at her sides. She thought of the place that could possibly cheer her up. Suddenly, Elsa's favorite comfort food café came to mind. "How about the Underdog Café off Loki Street?"

"Okay." Kristoff turned to face Elsa. "Sound good to you, Elsa?"

"Yeah. That sounds good."

"All right. Let's get to the car."

Kristoff laced his strong, right hand with Anna's small left one and began their trek ti his car. Anna motioned for Elsa to ketch up and she did. She had her hands in her pockets while maintaining an even stride beside Anna. The red-head didn't like how her best friend was walking and yanked out her left hand and laced their fingers together. Elsa blushed from the sudden change and was about to quietly protest to Anna that she couldn't hold hands with her best friend and boyfriend at the same time, but Anna was quick and whispered to her that deserves just as much love and attention as she gives Kristoff if not more since they have a deeper history together. Elsa had shut her mouth before words had come out for she could not argue with Anna's reasoning. All she could do was mutter a 'fine.'

When they got to Underdog Café, which was located underground, the trio was seated in a booth. Anna and Kristoff sat on one side while Elsa sat by herself across from Anna. They were looking at the menus for a few minutes before a waitress came up and asked them what they wanted to drink. Both Anna and Elsa asked for an iced tea while Kristoff asked for a Nunavut.

After the waitress jotted down their drink orders, she left the table to tend to other costumers. In the meantime, the three friends were looking at what they wanted to have to eat. Kristoff decided to go a more American route and try what was called the Californian burger. He wanted to try it because he thought that if Californians could beat the French at their own game of wine making then they surely were a people to notice. Plus, they lived in a state with a basket full of geographical goodies. He was curious what it meant to have a California burger since he's tried other foods in an American style such as the New York steak or a Chicago pizza. He wanted to try foods from America to understand their culture through flavor since they were a mystery to most other countries.

As for Anna and Elsa, they were still looking. They were able to focus better what they wanted to eat once they learned out to tune out Kristoff who was still talking about how America was such a weird country and how he made a list of states he would consider visiting, but then decided against it feeling he was content enough in his home country, Norway. At last, he would stop talking about America, but then he went into nationalism mode and praised Norway nine ways to Sunday while Elsa and Anna tried to find something to eat. Luckily, when the waitress was on her way with their drinks, Kristoff had shut up and Elsa and Anna were able to make a speedy decision on what they wanted for lunch.

The waitress placed their drinks down on the table after putting down coasters and then tucked the circular serving tray under her right arm. Then she readied her pad of paper and pencil and waited for Kristoff to start off the table with his order.

"I'll have a California burger, please."

"Kay." The waitress then looked at Elsa. Rather, she glanced at her and then gave her the once-over and winked at her before asking: "What do you want, sweetie pie?"

Elsa lurched forward and blushed. Over the table, Kristoff was surprise by the waitress' forwardness, but felt happy for Elsa because a girl took interest in her. However, his girlfriend did not share the sentiment. She rather peeved that the waitress was flirting on _her _best friend. It was disgusting. If she was going to do that, she could have had the decency to do so after they had their meal. But then as Anna looked over at Elsa, she felt a wave of guilt washed over her. Just because she felt possessive of Elsa didn't mean that she didn't deserve a chance of happiness with someone special. Anna decided to push down her possessive nature even though it was hard practically sharing a life with someone she'd known since birth practically. Elsa gave Anna a side-long glance at her and Anna gave her an encouraging smile. Elsa looked back at the waitress.

"I'll have a tuna melt, please."

"You got it, sweetie pie."

Elsa gulped. She never felt so nervous and embarrassed in her whole before. Well, not her _whole_ life, but certainly not when she was a young adult and in a public location. The waitress turned to Anna.

"What about you?"

"Salmon salad, please."

"You got it."

Before the waitress left, she scribbled something on the next page, ripped the paper out and placed it in front of Elsa before going off her business. Elsa carefully slid the piece of paper towards her and flipped it to see what the waitress had written for her. Anna leaned over the table in pure curiosity.

"What does it say?"

"It has her name and number on it."

"What's her name?"

"Helga."

"Hm." Anna leaned back against the booth and bit her lower lip in contemplation. Elsa and Kristoff looked at Anna.

"What do you think of her, Anna?"

"Wait, what?"

Anna blinked as she turned her head to face both Kristoff and Elsa. The platinum blond repeated herself.

"What do you think of her, Anna?"

"Oh, um…she seems nice."

"You don't like her do you?"

"No! I didn't say that. It's just that she was very straightforward."

"Well, I have to say she was a little brash for my taste, but I thought I'd get a second opinion."

"Do what you want, Elsa. Why are you asking me for my opinion? It's not like you need my permission to date somebody. I'm just your best friend."

"That is true, Anna. I don't need your permission to date somebody, but I want your opinion. And you're not just my best friend; you're the one person whose opinion of my life choices really matter to me other than my parents. So, don't think I don't care what you think at all. Far from it, Anna. I would like to know if I should try to pursue a possible relationship with her."

"I don't know about a relationship, Elsa. She might be looking more for a fling than a relationship. I don't you to get hurt, but I also don't want you to be alone. Take a chance and take things slow. Don't hope for a relationship yet. You need time to get back into the game. I mean, when was the last time you dated?"

"It was with when I was Derrell and found out I was gay."

"And that was _how long_ ago?"

Elsa cringed. She knew where Anna was going with her argument. "Back in the eighth grade when I was thirteen."

"Right….So, it's been a while. If you're interested, then just act casually at first and then see where things go from there."

"Thanks, Anna."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"You mean what best friends are for."

"Right. That's what I meant."

When the words left Elsa's mouth, she didn't know what she was feeling. She studied Anna's expression and felt that was something off about her. On the outside, she seemed perfectly content giving Elsa pointers on how to score a date with someone she just met, but on the inside Elsa sensed that something was eating Anna up alive. Elsa wanted to know what was bothering the strawberry blonde so much, but decided against it and smiled at her best friend.

"We always got each other's backs."

"Yeah, we do."

Then, something unexpected happened. Anna smiled back and Elsa felt something an unfamiliar feeling in her chest. It felt that her heart strings were being pluck like those of a harp. Before she had time to process what she was feeling, Anna diverted her attention from Elsa and began to chat up a storm with Kristoff. Elsa leaned back in her seat and watched the happy couple smile and laugh and share sweet and quick kisses on the lips. Elsa usually wasn't fond of watching them do simple couple things for different reasons, but this time really got her. She felt angry about it and she didn't know why. She had a vague idea that maybe she was jealous, but about what she could not pinpoint. Elsa knew that she wasn't jealous of Kristoff and Anna being in a committed relationship even though she'd like to be in one herself. No. That wasn't bothering her at all. But something was deep down in her heart.

Before Elsa could ponder more about her quandary and contemplate life, their waitress, Helga, came back with a tray of food. She served Elsa first.

"Tuna melt for you, sweetie pie."

"Thank you."

Then she went about her business giving a friendly smile to Anna and Kristoff as she gave them their food as well.

"What a cute couple you two make."

Elsa curled her hands up into fists under the table. Anna and Kristoff beamed at Helga and voiced a sincere "thank you" together. They were synchronized with their response, it sickened Elsa. Only she and Anna were supposed that synchronized since they've known each other their whole lives and practically did everything together. Elsa didn't want to be replaced by Kristoff or by anybody else for that matter. She liked her place in Anna's heart. It was cozy yet spacious at the same time. She didn't mind sharing Anna with both of their parents and some close mutual friends that had, but she felt like once Kristoff came into the picture that he was encroaching on her territory like a trespasser stepping on private property. Before Helga left, she flashed Elsa her best smile and winked at her. Elsa hardly noticed but smiled back to be polite. With that, Helga was gone.

"Finally! Some food!" Kristoff happily picked up his well awaited burger and dug in.

He _loved_ it. There were avocado and bacon slice in the burger. It was so smooth, creamy and so distinctly bacon-ish. The burger itself had enough grease to make it flavorful, but not too much to seem fatty. It was perfect for Kristoff.

Elsa lightly chuckled on how enthusiastic the blond man was about his burger. She grinned to herself as she picked up her tuna melt and took the first few bites before glancing over at Anna. Forgetting her frustration from before, she looked up at her best friend in a good mood and wondered how Anna felt.

Elsa swallowed some tuna meat and melted cheese and then cleared her throat.

"So, Anna, what made you pick this place?"

Anna seemed distracted while moving her fork around to find some salmon and lettuce to stab into and lift it to her mouth. She looked up at Elsa once she gave up the search of finding the perfect bite of her salad.

"Huh?"

"I asked you what made you to pick this place."

"I noticed you were under the weather when Kristoff asked me about living with him next year and I wanted to make it up to you by picking this place. I know it's your favorite comfort food place away from home."

Elsa blushed. Now she felt terrible for being so unreasonably frustrated with Anna even if it was in her head. She hadn't realized that Anna took note of her behavior and felt compelled to make it up to her for some reason.

"Thanks. But there's nothing to make up for. You did nothing wrong."

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I know. But you seemed….distant and I wanted to pull you back in."

Elsa's blush turned from a light pink to a deep red. "Um…thank you again. You've always been so considerate of other people's feelings especially to mine."

As if knowing what was on her mind, Anna reassured Elsa. "Hey, Elsa, don't worry. Even if I do decide to live with Kristoff next year, don't mean that I'm going to push you away. You're my best friend and you're a huge part of my world. There's no way I'm going to let you out of life."

Elsa tensed up. She felt so touched by Anna's words and felt kind of silly that she ever had to doubt that Anna would stop having room for her in her heart. The platinum blonde haired young woman gave her fiery partner-in-crime a soft, sincere smile.

"Don't worry, Anna. I don't plan to let you leave my life either. You're too important to me to let you go. If you choose to bunk with Kristoff, I'm sure we'll find time for each other. By the way, have you started to thinking about whether or not to live with him?"

"Yeah, I have. But it would be too much to talk about it right now. Let's just enjoy lunch now and talk about it later when we get back home." 

"Okay."

Then every worry melted away from Elsa's body like the tuna melt that easily melted down her mouth and into her awaiting stomach.

Kristoff came up for air from munching on his burger.

"What were you girls talking about?"

Anna laughed and patted Kristoff on the shoulder. "Nothing to worry about, sweetie. Elsa and I were just sharing some girl-talk."

"Oh. Okay."

Kristoff resumed devouring his burger while Anna went back to eating her salad. Elsa kind of felt bad for Kristoff for being lied to by Anna, but she could understand the strawberry blonde's motive. She didn't want to complicate things by telling him the truth when she wasn't sure of how she felt about the offer of living together so she took the easy way out and used her and Elsa having girl-talk as an excuse. Yet Elsa couldn't feel too bad for Kristoff. She knew that girls and women alike under certain circumstances would use "girl-talk" as code for "it's none of your business" or "you don't need to know right now". But sometimes it was the truth when females used the term which meant that guys would never know if they were being lied to or being told the truth. It was better for society that females remain an enigma for males or else life would get pretty flipping boring really fast if guys knew exactly what was on girls' mind and that wouldn't be any fun. To keep things in balance, girls need to occasionally fuck up guys' brains and play mind games on them. Or, at least, that's what Elsa firmly believed to be the truth. She couldn't imagine society staying the way it was if males knew what females thought of them and vice versa. Maybe life was a game and they had to play along to get to the end.

Elsa dismissed the philosophical question of guys and girls knowing what was on each other's mind and finished off her tuna melt and iced tea. When Helga dropped off the bill, she winked at Elsa as grabbed the empty plates and glasses and then left. Kristoff pulled out his wallet and looked at the bill before slamming down the exact change. He gave Anna his wallet before glancing over at Elsa.

"You can decide what tip to give to Helga, Elsa. I need to use the bathroom."

Without another moment, Kristoff got out of the booth and headed for the men's room. Anna leaned over the table and smirked at Elsa.

"So, what tip do you want to give her?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, come on. She likes you."

Anna nodded her head in Helga's direction. "She's not too far from here."

Elsa looked over to where Anna pointed her head toward and saw Helga talking to two girls at a table. Anna observed the three women alongside Elsa. They waited long enough to see that Helga was flirting with one of the girls at the table and kissed on the lips. Anna audibly gasped. Elsa and Anna looked at each other.

"That bitch!"

Elsa raised her hands in front of her-a gesture she usually made when trying to calm Anna down.

"Now, Anna, calm down. You don't want to make a scene."

Anna was furious. Her cheeks were hot with rage. No one was going to play with her best friend's emotions and get away with it. There would be hell to pay.

"Maybe I do want to make a scene. She doesn't care about you at all!"

"Anna." Elsa's voice was firm and was a warning.

Anna stopped herself. She was still pretty pissed off at Helga, but she didn't want to upset Elsa. Her voice was meek. "Sorry."

Elsa reached over the table and took one of Anna's balled up fists in her own. "It's okay."  
"It's just that I'm so angry."

"I know."  
"Would it kill people to get to know how wonderful of a person you really are? I mean, really? How many times has this happened since you figured out your sexual orientation?"

"Seven."

"That's right. Seven times. What's wrong with people? Why do people have to be such assholes? Doesn't anybody care about the nice people anymore?"

"They care about you."

"I mean the introverted, nice people like you, Els."

"You like me. You and Kristoff. And both of our parents like me. Though it'd be pretty stupid if my own parents didn't like me."

Anna's fist uncurled underneath Elsa's hand and the blush on her face softened from an angry red to an embarrassed and grateful shade of pink. Anna had cleared her throat.

"Well…um…we-we don't really count."

"Why not?"

"Umm….." Anna pulled her hand away from Elsa and placed on her lap with her other hand. "Well, not enough people appreciate your existence and the awesome things you do for this world. They're just-just…"

"Dumbasses?"

"Yes. Dumbasses. People are dumbasses when they don't see how great you are."

Elsa smiled at Anna.

"What?"

"Thanks."

"Uh…You're welcome."

Then Anna diverted her attention on Elsa and looked at the bill to calculate a low tip percentage before rummaging through Kristoff's wallet for a small amount of money.

"You got a pen with you, Els?"

"Maybe. Why? What are you planning to do, Anna?"

Without looking up at her best friend, Anna extended her right hand to Elsa.

"Just give me your pen, please."

Sometimes Elsa didn't like that Anna took advantage of her knowledge of her being a Literature Major. But Elsa dismissed the thought and pulled out a pen that was in her back right pocket and handed it to Anna. The red-head gratefully took the pen while still looking for loose change. Once she found what she wanted, she grabbed the bill that was paid by Kristoff and wrote down a note at the bottom and left behind a one percent tip. Anna looked straight at Elsa as she returned the pen.

"Thanks, Elsa."

"Uh, sure."

Anna closed up Kristoff's wallet and looked around for Kristoff and Helga. Luckily, Kristoff came out of the bathroom and was walking to the booth in time. Anna got out of the booth and so did Elsa. Anna quickly approached Kristoff and told him they could leave as she gave him his wallet back. Anna ushered Elsa to pick up the pace. Elsa wasn't sure what Anna wrote on the bill, but she suspected that they didn't want to be around when Helga came back to pick up the money, so she just did what she asked and caught up with Anna and Kristoff as they left the café.

By the time the three friends were gone, Helga returned to their empty booth. She picked up the check and looked for her tip. There wasn't much. She wondered what she did wrong. Then she was the note at the bottom and then had a vague understanding of what she did wrong. With a frown on her face, she returned to work.

To Be Continued…


End file.
